Eggless Dessert Recipes

These ancient sweets are called pâte de fruits "maison". "Maison" means house in French. The candies are very easy and require only a few ingredients: fruit pulp, pectin and sugar. The flavor is similar to fruit leather, but with a softer texture.

I made strawberry fruit purée and added fresh loquats as well. The key is to use freshly picked, extremely ripe, naturally sweet fruits to ensure optimum flavor. Once the fruit pulp is cooked, you'll need to air-dry the candies for at least 12 hours, cut them and roll them in sugar. The texture should be soft and the taste should be fruity, without being overly sweet.

I usually make these candies when I have very ripe fruits in the garden. You could make them from any fruit purée, such as blackberries, quince, blueberries, cherries, lemon, gooseberries, cantaloupe, peach or plum. Let your imagination run wild! I've always found making homemade candies so much fun because of how flexible the recipes are.

These "mignardises" (pretty, delicate sweets in French) are delicious to take to a picnic or as homemade gifts. That is, if you don’t finish them off first!

This mango carrot mousse recipe is a refreshing escape from everyday ingredients. It has an Asian flair to it because of the use of mango, ginger and cinnamon. To the mango mousse, I added shredded carrots cooked in milk and agave nectar. I purposely didn't blend the carrots with the mascarpone cheese in a food processor so there would still be a slightly coarse texture to the mousse, which I find very pleasant.

Whenever I'm on a quest to make a new dessert, I always keep in mind that most people appreciate a little decadence. Serving the mousse in small verrines is a great way to keep rich desserts from becoming excessive, and it also makes the desserts more elegant. It will keep the dessert fans in your life coming back for more!

Mango cream cheese mousse is an ultra easy dessert. It doesn't require any cooking and can be prepared one day ahead so you can relax the day you're hosting your dinner party. The other cool thing about it is that the dessert is gluten free, making it a perfect option if one of your guests has a gluten allergy.

I flavored cream cheese with Alphonso mango pulp and added the same stabilizers I typically use in place of eggs (xanthan gum and lecithin). I also folded in some whipped cream so the mousse is light and airy. The interplay of the tanginess of the cream cheese with the sweetness of the mango is really incredible, and far more complex in flavor than I expected. The only negative about this recipe is that it’s so easy to make that I’m worried that we’ll be indulging in it more than we should (I served it in 3-ounce dessert cups). We’ll just have to spend more time exercizing!

If you're familiar with French pâtes de fruit or fudge, you'll want to try the Indian / Middle Eastern equivalent, calledhalwa. Halwa literally means "sweet" in Arabic. It can be made with different ingredients such as carrots, pumpkin, yams, beets, semolina and many types of beans, lentils or nuts.

Daddy (my father-in-law) had a craving for some chana dal halwa, so my mother-in-law made several batches this weekend. To the chana dal, she added roasted cashew nuts (Kaju in Urdu) for flavor and texture. This particular recipe also calls for a large quantity of clarified butter, or ghee. Gheeis popular in Indian cuisine and can be found at almost any Indian grocery store. This dessert is definitely not low fat or low calorie, but the taste and texture are extraordinary. Store-bought halwa cannot compare.

We made a huge batch and stored them in tins in the refrigerator. The girls placed the sweet candy in cellophane gift bags and tied a pretty bow around them to give away to their friends and teachers. Whether or not you decide to share the dessert with others, you should definitely find time to make some. Your efforts will definitely be rewarded.

Tarte Tatin sounds like a fancy dessert, but really, it's just an upside down caramel apple tart. I made a simple tart shell using dough called pâte brisée. Instead of filling the shell though, I placed slices of apples that were cooked in a caramel sauce into the mold and then covered them with the tart shell. The tarts then went into the oven to cook the shell.

You really should eat these treats almost as soon as they come out of the oven. To plate, just flip each mold and the apples will now be on top. If you wait too long, the caramel will harden and it will be difficult to unmold. If you flip the tart out and let it sit, the crust will get soggy. This has never been a problem at my house because the smell of freshly baking apples always manages to gather the entire family in the kitchen.